Are you f*#cking kidding me?

There’s an expression that’s associated with Mr. Murphy that springs to mind today. Mr. Murphy, as you may know, has a well established list of laws that pertain to everyday life. One of the more prominent ones is stated that "No good deed goes unpunished" and today that was certainly true. 
 
I work at a bank, one which because of this situation I wish to keep nameless, where behaviour among bankers is questionable. Now when I say questionable I mean that they’re doing things for their own benefit and not for the benefit of the client. This is the first time I’m actually putting this down on paper so that I can read/hear it as I’m typing/saying it and it turns my stomach to admit such things are taking place. Blech! 
 
Anyway, I’m a banker and the company for which I work is truly an advocate for the consumer. I know most people would scoff at such an idea but it’s true. Most companies have a mission statement. That is to say that they like to try to sum up what they stand for in a sentence or two, maybe as much as a paragraph. They frame this testament to their own bloated self worth and hang it somewhere prominently for all the world to see. Well my company, my bank, has a mission statement too. Unlike most though, my company’s mission statement is 42 pages long and it’s a testament to the strength and credibility of those that wrote it and those of us who support it and I’m proud to count myself as one that believes in the message. 
 
I understand that banks, like any other business entity, are in business to make money. I also understand that most people work for companies to earn money for themselves. Most companies and their employees are entrusted to do the right thing both for the business and for the client. What most people done’t know is that banks have their employees working as sales people. Now most would turn up their nose and make a nasty face about this. A sales person’s job is not something to be ashamed of or to be frowned upon. It simply means that that person is being paid based on their ability to interact with a client, find out what their need is and then to provide a service or product that satisfies that particular need. This is a respectable profession and nothing to be embarrassed about. 
 
There are however, those that would use such a position as a predatory tool to satisfy their own needs, to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, this is a reality but not one that is isolated to just banking. It is most regrettable that such behavior would find a place to thrive anywhere at all, most notably banking. I associate this to that of a "used car salesman" who would say anything to get the customer to make the purchase. 
 
Ok, so I’ve digressed. I’m WAY up on my soapbox now and the air is getting pretty thin so I’d better come down a bit. I’m not saying that me, or the bank that I work for are perfect but we sure as heck strive for it. Well, save the few despicable bottom feeders that will do what’s best for them rather than their clients
 
Anyway, I’ve tolerated enough unscrupulous behavior and watched enough good people be subjected to reprehensible tactics that instead of just trying to fix it and make it better I spoke up. Yes, I spoke up! A most frowned upon action but a most necessary one in order to force a change. I spoke up and said I won’t stand by anymore and just clean up after you when you’ve done wrong. I spoke up and said if you won’t work ethically and in the interests of the client and then company then you can’t have my silent approval. I spoke up and said my company won’t stand for predatory tactics and lying for personal gain. Yes, I spoke up! 
 
And….like everyone before me who’s spoken up I’ve been the subject of ridicule. Scorn from those that wouldn’t heed the advice I gave them all along about being a responsible banker, being a responsible person. Now I’ve had the spotlight of attention turned on me by those who’ve broken the rules and gotten away with it for so long. 
 
At first I was upset. I was upset because the one person at work that I confided in that I was going to speak up wound up being a person of weak character. This person that I trusted to be my colleague, my confidant, my amigo went and gave me up to the crew and let them know that I had spoken up. I was wrecked! I couldn’t believe that someone I had trusted to be my compatriot in this noble fight to restore dignity and honesty to our profession had turned her back on me, had given in to weakness and become part of the problem. How could that happen? How could someone I cared about and looked out for have betrayed me?
 
But then again I remembered another one of Mr. Murphy’s laws, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. So yes, I got thrown under the bus by a trusted friend. Another valuable lesson along life’s bumpy road. 
 
So I spoke up and whatever happens to me in the wake of all of this, I know I did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.